Announcement of the Autumn Leaves
by Jibril Mudo
Summary: Tenchi has long chosen his destiny, but is struggling to announce his choice to the group. Tsunami helps him find a way to break it to them gently. Complete.


**Announcement of the Autumn Leaves**

"_Gochisousama deshita._" No response. Tenchi crawled up and leaned over, puzzled. Thankfully, she was still breathing, albeit heavily, her eyelids shut underneath a mat of damp hair. He bent down closer, examining her face, a fine sheen of sweat glinted off her features. He brushed the underside of her chin and gave a start when her hand shot up and grabbed his, guiding him to her rosy cheeks. She nuzzled against his palm. "_I was worried!_", he scolded.

"_I blacked out,_" she replied, her blush deepened further. "_With that last thing you did..._" Their eyes met, her's narrowed, accompanied by a mischievous grin, and it was Tenchi's turn to blush and look away. Something ticklish was in his throat but it was forgotten when her arms slowly encircled his neck, closing together into a hug. The pervasive force of the hold and the mass of deep blue hair next to his face elicited the memory of his first encounter with her human mother. He ran his hands through that ocean and was a bit shocked when several strands pulled free. It was natural to humans, but Tsunami? With guilt, they were discreetly discarded before she released him, and the two started clothing each other. Tenchi took his time, deliberate in each action. This goddess, his goddess, could materialize the clothing around herself, picture perfect every time. But here she was, bequeathing him this honor, and he set to the task, striving for the same flawlessness. He lifted and adjusted the robe. None of her clothing had visible seams, zippers or buttons, yet they closed around her body with precision. He then went about setting every tassel and ornament correctly and minding their proper place. Now she floated upwards, the soft bottoms of her naked feet stabilized on his forearms, something he found arousing. Her toenails, painted in the lightest pink complemented her eyes, disappeared behind some silken stockings. Her shoes, something formal resembling Aeka's best ones came to light and he slipped them on. She came down, stepped back and he breathed in. It was still stunning how she bested all of the others in height with her 195cm, her single pony tail even longer, but it always gave one the impression of floating just above the ground, like her own footsteps.

Three years ago, when he dared initiate their small dates that began as simple discussions while making circuits of the forest, Tenchi had to look up at her. He was only sixteen and had the awkwardness of a late maturing weighing upon him. He always fretted about the impression she got when looking down at him, and, conversely, peering up at her just reinforced the pedestal effect, making her seem distant and untouchable. As if his prayers were being personally answered by fate, a belated growth spurt hit the previous year and, within the season, he had reached her height; it also bestowed him some small sense of equality. However, it came at a price, around town the locals beheld him like a foreigner, and, considering his heritage, it wasn't an altogether inaccurate assessment. The seating at some restaurants, movie theatres, and other establishments became unbearably small, reinforcing the alienation he felt around him. Fortunately, he was a homebody anyway, yet the girls took his new height as license to run roughshod over him even further. Swooping down from the beams of the living room, Ryoko grabbed every chance to mount uninvited piggy back rides. Aeka tended to hide behind him, seeking refuge during her fights with Ryoko, perhaps seeing him as completely lordly a figure now too, capable of full protection. Washu, well, made it an excuse for more tests and experiments while Mihoshi, herself reasonably tall, just overexaggerated her giggles and blushes when he started towering over her. Sasami, well, he wasn't sure where Sasami ended and Tsunami began, in what areas the two blended and where they were still separate...

"Ugh!" Tenchi was forcibly yanked out of his reverie as Tsunami finished dressing him, having knotted the belt on his gi extremely tight. He could barely breath at first and looked at her questioningly.

"_With so many girls around you, Ten-chan, I have to make sure those loops don't become undone in the meantime._" She grinned lopsided.

"_I'm yours,_" he grunted in mock pain.

"_I know._" Her forefinger played down his nose. "_I know._" Her expression saddened and she reached into his pocket and withdrew an item. "_Won't you put this on?_"

It was the ring she gave him so long ago, during his near death experience while fighting against Kagato's Souja in space, at their first meeting. Her presence overwhelmed him back then and she did nearly all the talking. That initial awe never really went away, although now he was able to quietly compose himself rather than being stricken silent like some country rube. The ring was made from Tsunami-ki's resin, hardened into an amber, and was decorated with an intricate leaf pattern around the exterior. Tenchi offered his ring finger. "_You know how to do it without the armor appearing,_" he noted.

"_It all in how you twist it. It's simple, here, I'll show you,_" she replied and slid it on.

"_You know I have to take it off again, back home. It will arouse their suspicions._" Again, sadness swept her face and he hated it, but it was simple pragmatism. It was easier to avoid all the complications, the questions, the accusations, and, inevitably, the fights. "_Besides, think about Sasami. They'll descend upon her,_" he argued.

She didn't appear quite convinced but took his left hand with her right and started walking their roundabout path back home. "_They know you always carry it around anyway. To them, it's just an armor reserve,_" she countered. It just didn't seem that clear cut, nor had he ever known his housemates to maintain a high level of rationality when it came to him. "_When will you tell them, Ten-chan?_" It was a question that he asked himself many times. It weighed heavily on his mind with no clear answer. "_They'll only be more hurt the longer they wait._"

"_I know._" Tenchi sighed. "_My mother's ring would look great on you, as well,_" he said wistfully, wondering how such a being would respond.

She cheered up immensely and nodded. "_It's a beautiful time of year._" The leaves had turned shades of yellow, red, and brown and some already littered the ground. During their trysts, the two had to retreat deeper and deeper into the forest to blend into the shrinking camouflage. Tenchi wondered if the thinning canopy offered any privacy at all overhead. She yanked him off to the side. "_Remember this spot?_"

"_Of course, it's only been six months. My first kiss._"

"_Oh, you too?_" she retorted coyly. "_Such a coincidence! Me too. Tell me all about yours._"

"_Promise you won't get jealous?_" he played along.

"_Promise? Not. At. All!_"

They giggled, he leaned forward and so did she. His lips pursed and eyes closed in trepidation, if he watched the approach it would panic him, but he felt it coming, his heartbeat fluttered with the countdown to... to touch foreheads? Not exactly what he was fully expecting, but something he was used to by now. His forehead tingled and he pulled back. Her emblem, those two circles on her forehead, were ablaze in the dusk. He stared down at his own reflection in a murky puddle. What were once three triangles had slowly transistioned into a single circle. He rubbed the spot. "_What am I, Tsunami-sama?_"

"_Someone special, Tenchi-sama._" She took his arm again and dragged him along. In this, she never quite answered him, responding only with soft encouragement. But the topic wasn't quite that important to him as the pair strolled home. Every so often, she would try to trip his legs from under him. "_My champion needs fast reflexes,_" she had explained to him once, although it only started with their romance, and he found it just a playful game. Still, when he failed and had fallen, she would make a huge fuss, which he preferred to avoid. Even when he attended her, he felt out of his league, and when that situation reversed, it helped to only amplify that uneasy feeling.

The path wound up to the steps that ran up to his grandfather's shrine. He hadn't the courage to chance being seen, so he navigated them on a series of pathways heading downhill through the forest. It had the benefit of depositing them near the field and Funaho-ki. When the clearing came into view, their hands reluctantly seperated, Tenchi picked up the field tools he had left under a bush and slung the full basket on his back and the hoe over his shoulder. This final distance toward Funaho was quiet, but he scratched his head as they approached. It, too, was losing leaves. He hadn't even noticed the color change at all. "_Huh. It never did that before._"

"_With the advent of global climate controls, there ceased to be a regular passage of seasons. Every 20 years, the Jurains decided to cycle through the seasons so the plants can recycle their leaves and retain a natural resilence. Even the Royal Trees feel the effects. Funaho's roots are still connected in subspace to Jurain ground and water._"

"_Oh._" Tenchi crossed the lake using the flat stones, instinctively reaching back to guide her. It no longer completely perturbed him when he saw her walking beside him on the water, his guidance superfluous. Or maybe she was guiding him along, he shrugged to himself. "_Is your tree, you, are you, um, oh,_" he didn't quite know how to address her various aspects. "_Is it shedding too?_"

"_Not as much as Ryo-ohki,_" she remarked sardonically.

"_Um._" He leaned back against the bark of Funaho and slid down into a crouch.

"_This time it is. Usually it wouldn't, but it takes my total concentration to subvert the tree's natural cycle._" She stared at him intently, letting it sink in. "_It could even affect this apparition, composed of my tree's substance reassembled, until the union with Sasami is complete._"

Tenchi mulled the words. "_You're not going to go bald, are you?_" He stared wide-eyed at her.

"_Perhaps. Maybe I'm already wearing a wig and you just don't know it yet._"

"_Yes, Tsunami-sama._" Tenchi chuckled back at her, at the ridiculous thought. He relaxed, it didn't even matter, as long as they were together.

"_Ten-chan, when next we meet?_"

"_I have to harvest carrots for Ryo-ohki. And the other vegetables. I'm behind on some house chores, the girls will want to see me hang around the house a bit. Otherwise it'll give us away,-_"

"_How many days apart do you need to keep the decision you made so long ago hidden from the others?_" she said harshly, then stared into the water, embarrassed at her own outburst.

"_Fifteen, Tsunami-kami-sama._"

"_Sasami-chan needs help with dinner in the kitchen,_" she advised flatly.

"_I would like to keep this taste in my mouth a little longer._" He looked up, to gauge her reaction. Their was a fluster and blush, it had reminded him of Aeka's reaction when he saw her nude at the onsen long ago.

"_Ooh, you're just being a naughty boy, Tenchi!_" the goddess scolded and slapped his hand. "_If you go through the front door, no one will see you. No questions to answer,_" she stated matter-of-factly.

He nodded, he wouldn't have time to wash up in the back, but the kitchen sink would suffice in that regard. "_Thank you._" But she already disappeared. He went on his knees, bent over the water, and kissed the surface. "Ai shiteru, Tsunami-sama." As his eyes refocused, instead of his expected reflection, he saw her visage. She smiled, mouthed something similiar which the water only carried in silence, and then ripples washed her image away. Tenchi picked himself up, brushed himself off, and went toward his tools. It took a short while until he had backtracked to the field, so his clothing could gather the tell-tale signs of mud, before he headed home.

He snuck into the house, slipping his shoes and the ring off on the way, using the advised route. Sasami was stirring a stew in the kitchen. "Konban wa_, Tenchi-niichan!_" she said cheerfully. The princess, now twelve, had certainly grown, now in the beginning of puberty, although Tenchi thought she became more subdued at times. It always confused him as to how to best approach Sasami, since it remained a mystery to him of what she knew or even the specifics of state of the union. Perhaps even the goddess and the princess couldn't be certain; over time, he had seen broad glimpses of the princess creeping into Tsunami's own nature. Today, the goddess was certainly no longer only the stoic, composed, somewhat rigid but caring deity that he met years ago. However, Sasami gave little indication of anything which was just as well.

"_Do you need help Sasami-chan?_" He sniffed at the pot recognizing the slightly burnt sweetness of caramelized carrots and wanted to dip his finger in to taste it.

"_No, Tenchi-niichan, you'll get hair in there!_" She smacked his hands away with the wooden ladle and went back to work. "_Besides, dinner is ready._"

That was an odd warning given her much more volumous ponytails, he thought. Tenchi licked the smatterings of the sauce before combing through his own hair, checking for anything odd. "_I need to wash up first._"

"_You're fine, Tenchi-niichan. Go take a seat._" She pointed out the door into the living area. He obeyed and she followed him out of the door.

"_TENCHI!_" Someone swooped in from behind and Tenchi flinched against the oncoming impact. "_Bring a big carrot home for me to play with?_" she purred and slid her hands down his shirt.

"_Konban wa Tenchi-san._" "_Konban wa __Tenchi-dono._" "Konban wa _Tenchi-sama. Ryoko-san that is highly improper!_" came the chorus.

"Konban wa_._" He wiggled free from his assailant and went to the head of the table and the others seated themselves. Sasami placed the pot in the center, filling everyone's bowl with a ladle, rice and drinks having been already set, before going to her preferred spot at the other end, which she steadily commandeered for herself several months now, a spot his wife would take one day. Ryoko and Aeka sat to the left and right of him while Mihoshi and Washu sat besides them and to the left and right of Sasami. He eased into the cross legged position suitable for the low surface.

His stomach rumbled and he grabbed the rice. "_Itadakimasu!_" No one joined in. They all were staring wide-eyed at him. Aeka became even paler than her usual porcelain complexion, if that were possible. Ryoko's eyes alternated between him, questioning looks at Washu, and quick glances at Sasami. Washu smirked. Mihoshi looked inquisitive. "_What? What?_" He was baffled.

"_Tenchi-san,_" Mihoshi reached out with her chopsticks, plucking around his mouth, "_What are all these little blue hairs? They're so pretty and curvy._"

He coughed and stammered incoherently, frozen in place from imagining the oncoming eruption. Washu double-blinked, her eyes had more depth to them than usual, more wisdom than even her 20,000 years allowed. "For her first time out, my sister certainly knows how to mark her man."

Aeka gasped, put her hands to her mouth in complete realization and fainted. Ryoko, after sitting perfectly still for the better part of a minute, poured herself, with an unsteady hand, a generous amount of sake into her glass. She reached across the table and did the same for the comatose princess, before pouring a more proper amount for Washu, Mihoshi, and even Sasami. Tenchi was last, she gave him a muted smile. "_You know, I hafta hand it to her. All I would'a made you wear would'a been a tattoo of my name._" She raised her glass. "_Kanpai!_" The liquid in her glass disappeared and was replenished. A cycle that repeated many times over that night.

"_Kanpai!_" followed Washu and Mihoshi, who was thorougly unsure what they were celebrating, but quite happy to do so never-the-less. Tenchi hid his reddened face in his hands. Sasami also had been silent until the last. Then she simply giggled, and with Tenchi's attention on her, tapped her ring finger. Tenchi growled sourly at her for but a second.

"_Hai._" He took the ring out and put it on his finger, hoping for his own sake that he had the twist motion down.

* * * * *

Nobuyuki had yet to make it to dinner. He toted a bag and wore his own set of formal shrine clothing, a simple white robe and ornamental black hat. Today was special, and apparently Funaho must have sensed it as well, but for the others the celebration would come roughly 9 months from now. He trotted the well-worn paving stones to Funaho's center island and set about his work. The little prayer booklets were taken out of the bag and hung off every low-hanging branch found. A few paper lanterns were expanded to their intended form and placed here and there. By the time Nobuyuki finished, hundreds of pages flittered in the Autumn breeze. Incense was set on the ground at regular intervals around the perimeter of the base of the tree to complete the scene.

It would be a chilly November evening, but that was not his concern; he never did bother to give proper thanks before, overjoyed as he was at the time. Out of his shirt pocket, he pulled out an old polaroid. It faded a bit from age, but there he was, at this same spot with his wife, Kiyone, twenty years earlier. This holy tree, back then as now, had shedded its leaves and was decorated in the same, exact fashion. Kiyone's father, Katsuhito, had photographed the scene, indeed, the whole arrangement was his idea. By then, the couple had been been trying desperately for several years already and Nobuyuki was willing to try anything. He stared at the picture: at certain angles, he swore there was a ghostly figure on the side, an observation that never struck him before.

"_Just fog,_" he declared after a few minutes pondering and went back to his prayer preparations. Perhaps in short time, as back then, he would learn some welcome news from this night.

_**Fin.**_


End file.
